Massage Envy / misleading prices

Massage Envy advertises that you can be part of a "wellness program" and pay $39 each month for a massage. BUT as other posts have pointed out, you are locked into a one-year contract, unless you move where there are no clinics, or become medically unable to receive massages (with doctor's note). AND, what you are REALLY charged is $49 a month, which includes a massage and "fees". When my contract was coming due (and of course it will auto-renew unless you tell them way in advance you want to cancel) I asked what my options were because the contract states if you cancel your membership you lose unused massages. I was able to cash out six unused massages, but of course they didn't give me $49 times six, they gave me $39 times six. Then she tells me that going forward I'll pay the non-member rate for a massage (way more than $39). Also, they have a suggested tip sheet in the massage room, and it recommends what a 15% or 20% tip would be. It is based on the non-member rate, so you are told to pay an inflated amount for a tip.
What a WASTE OF MONEY! DO NOT SIGN UP FOR A CONTRACT WITH THIS COMPANY! The kicker is the technicians I have had have all been nice and give a decent massage. I'm sure they are not paid well, so at least I don't feel so bad about over-tipping.

Comments

yep - my introductory massage was $39 but now I pay $59 per month. when i fall asleep on the table, I've caught the massage therapist simply touching my shouders and not actually massaging me.
Signing a contract with this company was not a wise choice for me...

Nearly a month ago, Massage Envy slapped me with an unexpected $150 charge to my credit card that I had not authorized. I called the same day and spoke with a manager who informed me that she could not find the reason for the charge. She assured me she would check into it and call me back within 24 hours. Over a week passed, and I received no response. I later called and spoke with a second manager, who also assured they would call me back and solve the issue. I did not receive a response from the second manager, either. Since, whenever I have called, the staff have informed me that there is no manager present and that they "will call back tomorrow'. No response.

As a result, I've attempted to cancel my membership, but they require a written form which I have yet to find out how to access. I have no complaints about the massages I received there (the therapists were professional and capable), but I urge anyone reading this to NOT sign a contract with Massage Envy. You'll end up paying an arm and a leg more than what you expected (see the previous post), and receive little to no customer support when you wish to cancel...otherwise the contract continues to renew indefinitely, whether you receive massages or not. STAY WAY FROM MASSAGE ENVY.

"Also, they have a suggested tip sheet in the massage room, and it recommends what a 15% or 20% tip would be. It is based on the non-member rate, so you are told to pay an inflated amount for a tip."

So they ask you to leave 10-16 dollars for an hour massage, instead of 8-10, what a travesty! I can't believe that, since these people are doing hard, physical labor working on you, they're asking people to tip them in better proportion to how hard they work.

Etiquette says you tip based on the price before the discount, that's so cheap to say for someone having to touch you body, this is their job and they do it to help people and if you don't think it's worth a generous tip then you shouldn't receive the service.

I have been a member at Massage Envy for two years and always thought it was "ok", but just that! But the last time I went in they booked me with a he/she names Jennifer, she looked scary but I got past that. What really got me was she LEFT THE ROOM twice for about 10 minutes and told me my body was downloading the moves!!! When I complained to the front desk they said she did "Bowen" therapy WT[censored] It's getting way to bad there, they hire anyone, I don’t know if their even certified. I am canceling and will put the money out for a REAL CMT!!!

During Christmas 2010. I went into Massage Envys Spa at Livermore, CA at 2100 Portola Ave. to buy a gift card for my wife for Christmas. The lady ask how much do I want to buy on my card. I told her that I wanted one or two hour massage. She then responded that if I purchase two hour I can get the intorduct0ry rate for $98. So I purchased two hour for $98 which she wrote on the card $98 - 2 hour massage. a month later my wife call to make a appointment to redeem for the 2 hour massage. They told her that since she been to the establishment twice before. she can not use the gift card for 2 hr. she have to pay the different for the reg. 2 hr.rate. I called the spa and spoke to
the manager that, when they sold me the gift card they did not tell me nor is written on flyer that this can not be use for patron that have visited the spa more then two time without jointing membership. They admitted that was part of their employee mistake not telling me the policy. If they have told me . I wouldn't have bough it. Do you think that if you want to buy a gift card for this kind of service as a gift to someone. You would go to them and ask ... Honey, I want to get you a massage for Christmas. Have you been to Massage Envy before ? Ha... most unlikely. They still refuse to accept the card for the two hour serve. Do not go to Envy. They will con you to joint.
and for those who want to buy someone a gift card. DON'T. Is only good for member and people that have not been there before. But they do not tell you when you buying it. Bad customer service and false advertising.

Speaking as a massage therapist & ex waitress, we survive on tips. The industry standard for massage is $70. If a LMT works at a nice spa they can make as much 40%-50% of that $70 +tips, and if they work for themselves they make the whole $70. Massage Envy pays anywhere from $15-$18 an hour to their employees. One person here complained that they shouldn't have to tip more because ME pays LMT's like crap. Well, think about this logically. If Massage Envy is only collecting $39 for a massage they can only afford to pay the LMT a little less then half of that. Just to put it in perspective for you, one place I work charges $70 for a massage, the LMT gets $42+tip... If ME paid therapist that, they wouldn't make a profit, so why would they even be in business? They pay their therapist a fair price based on what's being charged in the hopes that clients will understand they are getting a bargain by saving so much on the service that they will tip well. My $70 clients come in & tip $15-$20= $85/$90 for a 50 minute massage. If you pay $49 a month for massage +$20tip= $69. You are still coming out cheaper than if you went to a spa or private LMT for a massage. When you go there you are paying WAY under the market price for a massage & the LMT is getting paid WAY less than the typical rate, so the tip should be based on the cost of what the service would have been before the discount. People do this in restaurants all the time too. They come in with a $15 off coupon, then tip 15% based on the DISCOUNTED bill. The server shouldn't have to suffer because you had a coupon. They make under $3.00 an hour. When I eat in a restaurant & get good service I tip 20%. Having worked in the industry, I know that by the time the waiter pays out about 5 % or more of their tips to the food runners, the bartenders, back waiters, and hostesses, if you tip 15%, they are only getting 10%. Then, if the tip is a credit card tip instead of cash, well that's even less of a tip they are getting. If a client tips me $10 on a credit card, I'm actually getting about $8.00. Also, keep in mind that $15-$18 an hour +tips sounds like decent money, we get paid by the client not by the hour. So, if we only get 1 or 2 clients a day, we are desperately hoping the people we do have tip well, especially since they are getting such a discount on the service.
Websites like Bargain Bee & Groupon are killing massage too. Businesses think this is a great way to get new clients, but the majority of these people are just bargain chasers. They are not looking for one great LMT to stick with. They go wherever the bargain is and either don't tip, or tip like crap. Eventually, that's going to disappear too because LMTs are getting sick of doing $8 massages & no tip. I have friends who make $15 an hour SITTING on their butt in AC, not working up a sweat, not rubbing on sweaty, hairy people, that come in without bathing, not dealing with old people farting, eczema, psorisis, creepy men trying to solicit or touch themselves, not risking catching something like athletes feet or a nail fungus, or a cold or the flu... I can't tell you how many people come in, get halfway through the massage & then inform me they are just getting over the flu. And, they're still coughing & sneezing, etc... Not to mention, the wear & tear on our bodies. Carpal tunnel, tendonitis, arthritis, etc... The industry was great when I started years ago. LMT's got paid their worth & cared about the work they did. Now, with places like Massage Envy & Groupon crap, we are forced to make way less but still expected to give the same great quality massage. Football players & athletes want to pay half of what they used to but still expect a 130lb female to dig in & do a super deep tissue massage for $15 plus a tip on THE DISCOUNTED RATE.
So, if you have such a problem with tipping, keep in mind that if places like Massage Envy didn't exist, you wouldn't be able to get a $39 or $49 massage. Also, these places may not be around long once enough LMT's get sick of working for $15 + crappy tips. It's a very physically demanding job. By the time we have done 3 massages at $15 an hour and got crappy or NO tips at all and we see we still have 4 more clients scheduled back to back, no time to eat, and our hands & elbows are aching, it's discouraging. Therapist can't help but start to think, "Why am I killing myself working so hard on these cheap people? I'm not getting paid enough." Then the massages start to suck, and the LMT quits & goes to work for themselves or a day spa charging $80-$100 a massage, and eventually ME runs out of people to employ, they go out of business, and people can either go back to paying $70+ for massages or do without them. Also, these places are usually staffed with people fresh out of school, so remember YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!!! Most LMT's I know are going into business for themselves and charging $50 a session. They still make way more than they would at ME & they are their own boss.
Many times when I worked as a waiter I would get a large parties of people that would complain about the gratuity being automatically added on the bill. My reasoning was that the ones who complained probably weren't planning on tipping all that well, if at all, anyway, so it was a good thing it was added in. If you are so offended by the tip suggestion envelopes in the massage room, than it's because you were planning to leave a not so great tip, or none at all, and the envelopes put you on the spot & make you feel CHEAP... Just saying

@serviceindustryworker Don't you dare blame customers for you being underpaid. I suggest you go get a job that pays!!! For some customers, they scramble and save just to pay for the massage. Just because they can't afford to pay you what you call necessary, doesn't mean they don't appreciate and/or value your service. Geez, why is it that money defines gratitude. How about a "Thank You so much, that was GREAT??"

I signed up for the monthy plan over a year ago, used the service once but have completed my payments for the year. I have tried to cancel this service 3 months ago after meeting my year obligation and I can't seem to get them to understand - CANCEL means NO PAYMENT... They continue to charge my card even though I dispute it. I spoke on 3 occaisions and am told that the manager/owner will call me to NO AVAIL. This is theft in my opinion and it needs to stop. Try to reach their corporate office - the number is disconnected. I am up for any class action suit against these theives.

this place in VA is ran by the most rude man i ever met in my life, his little sister is the "manager" and i use the term loosly. she is more involved with trying to get a man then running the place. she talks bad bout customers and employees where everyone can hear her. i have seen her talk to people in a way that just mades me upset. the owner has an attitue and forces his employees to con customes into a contract and he makes them lose hours if they dont. I would not ever EVER tell anyone to go there its a scam.And how do i know how evil they are? because i worked there.. I quit that place.. its bad and behind the smiles all they want is for you to sign a contract and give them money.

Without more detail, the only thing we can guess is that you did give them permission by the fact that you did give them your checking account information and probably signed a contract that you may not have read.

I was a Massage therapist with Massage Envy. I became the subject of Age and Sex discrimination and became a subject to various techniques to get rid of me. I was terminated for expressing myself (as allowed by my first amendment ) regarding my stand on second amendment rights and the discussion of the use of Zoloft by subjects doing mass killings.

There has never been any type of age or sex discrimination at this clinic. I am still employed with this company and it is a great company to work for. The management is fair and we are able to come in and do our job and not have to worry about anything else because it is provided to us. There are employees with ages ranging from 22-65yrs of age. As far as discipline goes it only happens when it is needed. I have nothing but great things to say about the company and the employers of this company. Sounds like someone is just disgruntled about losing their job.

I agree with everything you've said, EXCEPT for the part about TIPPING. Every single person in this country needs to realize that when they receive something free or discounted, the service people still need to be tipped appropriately based on what their bill would have been had you not had any discount at all. Most tipped employees make a meager wage(generally between 2.63-5.00 an hour, depending on State laws). Service people, be it massage therapist, waitress, bell-boy, etc. are still doing the same amount of work, and should be compensated as such. It is standard policy for any place of business with tipped employees to make their customers aware of this. If you come into my place of employment with a ten dollar off coupon, it SPECIFICALLY states (albeit in very fine print at the bottom), that you should tip you server/therapist/etc. based on the gross amount BEFORE any discounts are applied. Please keep in mind for most of us, this is our source of income, and after paying whatever we owe to "the house" (for me as a server, it's 2% of my sales), if you leave any less than a 5% tip, I basically end up paying for you to dine out, and for me to serve you.

Had last appointment of the day. Everyone was in a hurry to go home after a long day, this is when the receptionist (after my massage!) began "explaining" their wellness plan. How you sign up (then and there) if you want to "take advantage" of the opportunity to join. I was in a daze after trying to relax so the manager says she'll "allow" me until the next day to join. When I called back to ask more questions I was told I only had until 12:00 noon that day. Imagine my surprise when I'm told I'm too late to "take the advantage" of their little program!!! Screw them I won't be back and am now relieved that I was "turned down" after reading other remarks about this place. I really should have looked into their background before I went in. Shame on me and shame on them!!!

Complaint
against the Eugene Oregon Valley River Store: Horrible customer
service and rude. I was a member for quite some time but cancelled as
they hardly ever have openings and won't return calls. After i
cancelled i had several credits but could not get in to use them and so
they not only stole the credits but charged my credit card for another
month. When i called to complain they said that's your problem and hung
up, wow! Avoid this place at all cost. As a local business owner
myself i am applaud at such lack of customer service! They have lost a
customer for life!!